Best Dream, Worst Nightmare
by The New Flock Member
Summary: Shay was just having a normal day in high school back in 2010. But what if she, along with 14 friends and enemies, were thrown into the 256th Hunger Games? Who will win, and who will die? And can these kids from the past really cease to exist?
1. Shay POV

Hey peoples!

I've had this idea in my head for a while. Yes, this is a submit a character fic, because I'm too lazy to think of 12 more characters. Yes, this is more then just a fan girl and her obsession. I've never, ever seen this done before on this kind of scale, so bear with me.

Submission info and stuff is on the bottom.

I was feeling really lazy, and decided not to actually get creative and think of names, so I just took the names from my plan for another, non fan fiction story, and they kind of stuck. I like it.

Quote:

"They got all the right friends in all the right places, so yeah, we're going down..." OneRepublic, All the Right Moves

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Shay POV

"Shay Renolds, pay attention!"

"Yes, ma'm." I turned away from my boyfriend, Tyler, and towards the board. How I hated Math. It was my worst subject, the only one I didn't excel in. They almost didn't let me skip a grade for it. The only reason I even made an effort anymore was because of Tyler, who was a wiz at math and tutored me on weekends.

Well, on half of the weekend. The other half was spent pouring over my newest obsession, the Hunger Games book series. My friend Mikayla had introduced me to it, and I was instantly addicted to the twists and turns, becoming a part of Team Gale. I even made a shirt, which I wore now.

"Ms. Renolds, if you do not pay attention right this instant, then I will have reason enough to give the class extra homework." Everyone groaned, and I started taking note again with a pink tinge in my cheeks.

Sophomore math was so complicated. Was I even ever going to use it? Probably not. Honestly, I'm never going to need to graph polynomials in real life, am I? I was really enjoying the TGIF, though. Only a few more minutes until...

Ding!

… that. The clatter of books being put away was almost defining, and I added my bag to the chorus.

"Homework on the website!" I barely caught from the teacher as I was sucked into the flow of students out the door. Someone grabbed my hand, and I looked up to see Tyler. We walked like this over to his locker.

"I need some help with the book report I have in English," he told me, his locker clanging open. Since I'm in AP English, I'm the one to go to.

"Mhm... On what?" I leaned back against a locker and slid to the floor.

"I was hoping you could help me with that." The track team all jogged by.

"Hunger Games," I decided.

Tyler yanked me up and pecked my lips. "That's what I figured. When should I come over?"

I bit my lip. "Sunday morning. We can work all day on math and English."

Tyler opened his mouth to reply, but was thrown to the ground by a tall ball of energy. Taylor, our junior friend, had glomped him, big time.

Taylor bounced up from the floor. "Whats up, sunshine?" he asked me, ruffling my hair. "Three to one." He looked down at Tyler.

"I was wondering when you would try to bring your score up," I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm gonna kill you." Tyler pulled himself up from the floor and socked Taylor.

"Doubt it," sighed voice from behind. "Can we just go? I have homework to do." I spun around to see Mikayla grinning.

"Hey there, Kay. And, yeah, you guy can go. I have baseball practice today." Tyler got up, looked at the clock, and swore. "I'm gonna be late!" He grabbed my face and landed one quick kiss on it. "See you on Sunday!" he yelled, speeding down the hall.

"You two are like two lovebirds," said Taylor in a Goofy voice.

"Yep," I sighed.

"Too true," mimicked Mikayla. "Lets go, before I miss my opportunity to read a book before my mom gets home." She grabbed both Taylor's and my arm and dragged us out the door.

"I can walk," said Taylor, grumpy. Mikayla let go of both of our hands.

"So," I started, "today in orchestra I brought in some skittles, and Taylor and I were just sitting in the back, eating them behind a stand, and the teacher didn't even notice."

"We didn't even get our violins out, remember?" Taylor rubbed his belly and laughed. "Those were some good skittles."

Mikayla giggled. "I bet." Then she screamed.

I looked up from the ground and saw a car.

Heading right at us.

Taylor tackled me and Mikayla down to the ground, barely dodging the car that was headed right for us. There was one bad thing, though. We were on cement, and my head cracked pretty hard down on to the ground. I think I heard people screaming, but I was fading out...

---------------------------------------

I couldn't resist using the term glomp... May use it more farther into the story.

Weird beginning, huh?

What's going to happen is that they will wake up in districts of Panem. 12 of theirs friends along with them have also appeared there, and this is where all of you guys come in.

All twelve of the slots need to be filled, so I will give you guys an application. It will look different then all other applications seen before, as you do not know what district I will be placing you in. You  
can say what you want, but it won't necessarily go. I also have all rights to change your character so they fit into the story.

Also, I would really like for you to either base it off yourself or a friend. It will fit much more. You can put in up to two applications.

FORM

Name, gender, age: (must be 12-18, as per usual)

Relationship to Shay: (ex. Friend who moved far away, cousin, bully, friend of a friend, random kid at school, quiet kid in the class, her moms friends child, etc. No siblings, no really close friends. Cousins must have a little family tree thing that explains direct relationship. Shays parents are dead as of less then a year ago, so  
you know.)

Personality:

Reaction to being in HG world:  
With knowing HG:  
Without knowing HG:

Possible skills:

Fill it out and send it in through a review! And hurry. I am super excited for this, and the only thing holding me back from throwing out chapter after chapter is this character thing. This will probably a first come, first serve basis, and non logged in reviews would work, too.

Hurry, hurry!


	2. Tyler POV

I was super happy at the fact that so many people submitted characters! If you submitted one, it made it in. I may have changed the age, though, and the district. And when I say with knowing Hunger Games and without, it means do they know and/or read the Hunger Games or not. There are still spots open, so keep going!

And this story is written in 3 different POVs. Tyler, Mikayla and Shay all have major parts in this, and with them you get to see all points of the story.

Quote:

"Do you think I'm special? Do you think I'm nice? Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces?" OneRepublic, All the Right Moves

***

Tyler POV

I was halfway to the practice park behind the school when it happened. A screech of breaks, and several screams alerted me of the crash. I ran over to the lower parking lot, along with a ton of other curious students. Who was this crash involving?

We were all jostled and shoved around as everyone tried to get closer. The car of the head cheerleader was smashed into a lamp post, wraping around it at a gross angle. She must have been texting or something. Amazingly, she was out of the car with only a gash in her arm and a bloody nose, which a teacher was helping her with.

"Tyler Lawden?" someone yelled across the grounds. I recondnized the voice as belonging to Jimmy, a fellow baseball player.

"Here!" I yelled across the lot. Everyone was talking, and frantically whipping out cell phones, so I really had to make myself heard.

"Dude, your girlfriend," was all I could make out above the drone of the crowd, but it was enough. A cold sweat broke out all over my body, and I shoved and fought to get through the crowd.

"Move out of the way," I grunted. After what seemed like a millennium, I broke through. The EMTs had just arrived, and I saw one of them loading Shay into an ambulance.

"Where are you taking her?" I heard Britta, Shay's sister, ask an EMT.

"Children Trauma. It's the closest to here." The EMT loaded himself into one of the three ambulances that showed up and sped off.

Britta spotted me. "Tyler, get into the car," she commanded, running off to her little green clunker, keys in hand. I obeyed without question. Jimmy could talk to coach and cover for me. Brit peeled out of the parking lot and down the road.

"What happened?" she hissed out, knuckles white on the wheel. You had to admit, for a 19 year old, she was pretty intimidating. "I drive up to pick up all of you guys because I got off work early, and I come up to this."

"I left them to walk home alone because of baseball. I wasn't there, and I feel like crap. If I didn't run off so suddenly, we would have talked for a few more minutes, and..." I trailed off.

"Don't talk like that," scolded Brit. "It didn't even look that bad; just some bruising and stuff. Most likely a concussion in all three." She shivered. "It could have been worse."

That's why I liked Brit. She was just an overall cool person.

We arrived at the hospital, barely avoiding running a traffic light. Brit parked as close as she could, and we both sprinted inside. The nurse directed us to a waiting room for emergency patients, and we sat and waited in silence.

***

Shays hand in mine felt cold. I rubbed it, trying to warm it, but it was useless. Her hands were always cold, and it was one of the things you just got used to.

Brit had signed her out, being her legal guardian, and we were headed to her home. Shockingly, no one had any head damage other then minor bruising. It amazed the doctors a lot. With all the angles and stuff, at least one of them should have a cracked skull. I was just insanely grateful for the miracle that spared my best friends.

All of them were silent, which was odd. Not as odd for Shay, but more so for Mikayla and Taylor. They could never shut up. But when I last saw them in the hospital, all I caught was a strangled whisper of the word seven, over and over, from Mikayla, and a request to go home. It was odd, but the doctors said it was just trauma, and they would be back to normal in no time.

Shay jumped. "Taylor? Where are we?" she whispered in a hoarse voice. I just barely caught it, and was confused. Taylor?

"I'm Tyler." She looked up at me, eyes blank. "Taylor's waiting for his parents. And we're in the car with Brit, going to your house." She nodded, painfully slow, and went back to looking at the floor.

Something odd was going on.

"Tyler, we're pulling in," Brit said, reminding me to look up. I did, and saw we were only a few houses away from mine. In other words, we were at Brits place.

"I'll help Shay up to her room," I said.

Brit nodded. "I'll get dinner ready. Do you like cheeseburger tacos?"

I shrugged, and turned back to Shay. She was looking out the window, her face still blank. It scared me.

Brit pulled into the garage, and I helped Shay into the house and up to her room, balancing her backpack in one arm. Once up there, I remembered my book report.

"Hey, Shay? Could I take the book with me, so I can read in tommorrow and have it finished by Sunday?" I asked her. Shays eyes looked up at me blankly. "You know, the Hunger Games."

A look of incredible terror flashed across her face. Her head was moving back and forth, and her hands were shaking. "Hunger Games," she said, squinting up her eyes. She looked from side to side, and whispered a few more unintelligible things.

Almost as fast as it came, the weird emotion shift left. Her arms dropped down to the sides, and her face went blank.

I looked at her. "You okay?"

She nodded slowly.

I leaned in and hugged her. "I'm going to just get the book off your shelf and take it with me." I reached over and did just that, then took her hand. She grabbed mine back after a few seconds, and I lead her downstairs.

"Tacos are ready," Brit said, turning around. "I'm glad I prepared this yesterday, saved me a lot of time." She put the plate down on the small round kitchen table. "Lets eat."

I grabbed a few blue plates and some cups from the cupboard, and put them on the table. Brit dished up her cheeseburger tacos onto each plate, and we all dug in.

Normally, when eating at the house of two teenage girls, I would feel pretty guilty for taking up food. But when their parents passed a few months ago, they left a hefty sum to Brit, and included the paid for house and car. She also had a really well paying job as a secretary of a law firm. Plus Brit was like the older sister I never had, the cool one who you told random stuff to and laughed with.

"Don't eat the nuts," growled Shay suddenly, pulling out of her state of zombieness.

"Girl, there aren't any nuts on the table." Brit patted Shay on the shoulder. "Now eat the rest of your food."

***

There. Do you like it? Continue submitting!


	3. Mikayla POV

Ah! Submissions were great! Here is a list of people in district order. It may seem confusing, but remember, not all tributes are from the past, and I'm only listing the ones who are. And District 7 does have three, and that is for shtuff that won't come into play till way later.

People who got in:

Ashton Marie Renny (yeah, I changed the last name.) Female, District 3.

Kara Conway, Female, District 4

David Ray, Male, District 4

Azami T Mytelski, Female, District 6

Kyle Spell, Male, District 6

Sierra Sinclair, Female, District 7

Ini'mikalani (Ini) Enok, Female, District 7

Steven Fields, Male, District 7

Aureila Abcott, Female, District 9

Marcus Godby, Male, District 9

Parvati Sheelow, Female, District 10

Astrid Whitlock, Female, District 12

Sorry if you didn't make it in, but there were a lot of submissions!

There will be clusters of chapters that will have at least one chapter in each of their three POVs, and it will continue in this pattern for the whole story.

This little cluster has two Shays POV because she was the only one who told us about the beginning, and next chapter we are going to see her waking up in her district. Each cluster takes place at the same time, so you just get different POVs in three different places at the same point in the story. Does that make any sense?

Quote:

"Let's paint a picture of a perfect place, they got it better then anyone's told you...  
I know we got it good, but they got it made, and the grass is getting greener each day..."  
OneRepublic, All the Right Moves

*THIS IS A SEXY LINE BREAK BECAUSE MINE HAVE STOPPED SHOWING UP*

Mikaylas POV

I felt myself slowly come up to awareness, like pulling out of the bottom of a dark pond. My eyes felt really heavy, like a huge weight was on top of them. But that wasn't in my imagination...

I reached up and pulled a damp cloth off my face. A squeal of delight next to me alerted me of the presence of another living being in this room. I looked over to see two eager pairs of eyes looking back at me.

Not to burst anyone's bubble or anything, but I don't have any siblings. Heck, I don't even have close cousins, or even neighbors who have kids. Old crockety people don't have toddlers running around their house, you know. So who's to blame me if I screamed?

"Ahhhh!" the twins yelled right back. Then they giggled again. "Momma, she's awake!" the blond haired one yelled, and they scampered out of the room.

Um. That was really weird.

I looked around the room I was staying in. There were huge wooden beams in the ceiling, but they looked old and polished, like this room was decades older then it looked. Same with the clapboard walls. Even the bedframe that my, get this, sawdust filled sack of a bed was resting on looked old.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and walked over to a small and dirty glass window in the corner. I could see some houses that looked like really old and rundown versions of those cookie cutter houses of suburbia, and a few that were around me that looked a lot better up kept and newer, like the one I was in now.

Off in the distance, near a large wood, I could see a tree harvesting operation going on. I could barely make out a factory that was even farther off in the distance, and near it there were some more clusters of homes, most of them small.

Where was I? There were almost no trees where I lived, back in Arizona. Palms were popular there.

A nice looking middle aged lady came in the room. "Hello, dear. You must be feeling a lot beter, seeing as your up and about." She smiled at me.

"Thanks." I hesitated. "Where are we?" I tried to keep my more eratic self on hold. I didn't want to scare the lady.

"In the ninth sector of District 7, of course." She looked at me a little closer. "I think that bonk to the head might have caused memory loss. What year is it?"

"2010?" I guessed weakly. What was she saying about us living in the ninth sector?

She laughed. "Oh no, dearie! We are in year 256," she told me, still smiling. What would it take to make a lady like her just stop smiling?

"AD?" I yelped. I had two explanations for the year. Either I was still conked out, or I was somehow in a weird country or city of Amish people.

"No," she chucked, clearly having fun. "Year 256 of the Hunger Games."

I froze, and slowly sat down on the bed. "Hunger Games," I said. Okay, now I knew I was still passed out.

The woman was a lot more grave now. "Reaping are tommorow," she murmered. "I can see why you're upset. But don't be. There are thousands of slips, and only four with your name." She patted my back. "You never took out tesserae. Even though you made preliminarys, you probably won't get picked."

My hands started to shake really hard. "District 7, oh no, 7, 7, 7," I repeated, over and over. This can not be happening. "I have to get out of here!" I yelled, standing up. "I need to go home."

"Dear, you are home," said the woman. "I just came over for a checkup."

"No, you don't get it." I shook my head violently. "I have to go home home. Back to the past. I don't belong here. I lived in a place called Arizona, and it's way closer to the Capitol then here, and it is really dry, and I have friends there, and-" I spit out. The woman was giving me strange looks.

"You have lived here your whole life. I watched you grow up," she said, confused.

"Not possible," I choked out. Everything seemed to be spinning, and going blacker, and I felt myself falling over.

*STILL NEED TO USE MY LINE BREAK THING. THIS IS SOFA ANNOYING*

"Is she okay?"

"Yes. Oh, it looks like she is coming back up!"

Voices. Why can't they just shut up?

"Mikayla? Honey? Can you hear me?" a soft voice trickled down to my brain.

I groaned. "Yes." This was annoying, this people fretting over me. I don't do injured maiden well. Shrugging off blackness, I sat up and looked around. Nope, it wasn't in my imagination; I really was in the Hunger Games.

"Good, your up. It would be bad to be too injured, especialy with reapings tommorow. You need to be at your best," rambled on another, new woman. "Thank you, Francis, for taking care of her on such short notice. I really couldn't do it without you!"

"No problem," said the older woman, er, Francis. "I need to go check on the other kids who were in the accident."

Wait. Other kids? Could it possibly be Taylor and Shay? "Can I come?" I asked.

"Why, of course, dear," said Francis.

The other woman bit her lip. "Are you sure?" she fretted. Well, this woman must be my mother.

"Duh," I rolled my eyes.

"Well..."

"Mmoomm," I whined. Yeah, not very mature here.

"Fine. But take it slow."

"I'll make sure she does," reasured Francis. She gathered up her stuff, and before I knew it we were knocking on the door of the house next door.

A taller woman opened the door. "Ah, Francis, so nice of you to take care of Ini," gushed the woman as she lead us I side. "And, Mikayla, what a treat!" She showed us to a back room. "Ini woke up about an hour ago."

Inside the room was a shock. Lying on the bed was a girl who I had seen around school a few times, the Hawian exchage student. She was looking up at the ceiling.

"How are you today, miss Ini?" asked Francis. "I imigine you feel a little confused, especially after a bump like that." Ini just nodded her head.

Francis went through a whole checkup thing, and then Ini was told she was good to go. Francis asked me if I wanted to go with her to look in on others, and I told her no. After a few minutes, I was left alone in the room with my schoolmate.

"Um, hi..." I cleared my throat. "I think I know you from around school..."

"So I'm not going insane?" Ini looked at me. "We are in the Hunger Games?"

"I think so," I confessed. "I have no idea what caused it, though."

"And we're going into the reapings tomorrow," concluded Ini. "I guess one good thing will come out of this."

"What?" I asked, confused. No good thing could come out of this.

"Well," she started, swinging her legs over the side, "the only reason I can think of for us being here is to take part of the Games, right?"

I shivvered. No, I hadn't thought of that, but it made sense.

"But both of us are girls, so only one of us can be called, so that cuts our chances in half." She grinned at me. "And, odds are, that if you and I both popped up here, we're not alone. So that makes it even less likely one of us will be dead soon."

I really liked this girl. Not only did she have a bright outlook, but she already considered me a friend.

"So, do you think we should find others?" she asked me.

"Yeah!" I yelled. "Lets go taunt them into a tesserae!" I admit, that was one of the weirdest threats I had ever said.

*SMEXILY LINE BREAK HERE PEOPLES, LOOK THE OTHER WAY*

Mikayla has little to no tolerence for change. This is why she passes out. And did anyone catch the chapter connection there? Brownie points to those who did.


	4. Shay is back!

I may post some more tomorrow morning, so be ready.

Quote:

"I know things are looking up, but soon they'll take us down, before anybody's knowing our name..."  
OneRepublic, All the Right Moves

*YOU WISH YOU WERE THIS CHICK PICKING LINE BREAK*

Lights flashed. I rolled over and groaned. Was there no comfortable position on this bed?

"Five more minutes," I yawned when the lights flashed again. I flipped over and promptly fell off the bed I had been resting on. "Oh!" My eyes shot open, and I looked around in wonder.

The best way to describe the place I was seeing now was tin shanty. You know those houses you see when you look at pictures of Peru, the ones with the metal walls and roofs? Yeah, that's where I was.

Light was seeping in the cracks of the walls, and they ocationaly flickered. There was four beds, a sink, and a table with four chairs. On the table sat a small TV that looked like it had no reception.

I stood up and looked around. On the table there looked to be a note. I picked it up and read it.

Shay,  
PK let you stay home today due to your injury. We're all out planting.  
T is next door, if you find this note, check on him.  
Mom

Who was T? Tyler? And mom? Mine was six feet under, there by a closed casket funeral. Only one way to find out. I put on the worn, woven shoes I saw by the door and went outside.

The source of the flickering light was an old lamp post that must have come on when the sun started going down. Even in the limited light, I could see that the tin house I came out of only had one close neighbor, so I jogged over and opened their door.

Whatever electricity connections this place must have had came on at that time, and a bare light bulb illuminated the one room house I had walked into. Lying on a bed, still passed out, was Taylor. Well, at least I wasn't alone.

"Come one," I whispered, shaking him. He just moaned. "Get. Up." Spotting a nearby bucket, I had an idea. My hands slightly shook as I tried to contain laughter, filling the bucket to the brim with ice water. I went back to the bed.

"Taylor Warsaw, if you don't wake up this instant, I'm dumping this water on you." There was no reaction. Shrugging, I poured the whole thing on his head.

The reaction was immediate. He shot up, sputtering, and spotted me. "What was that for?" he cried, attempting to dry his face off on the bedsheets.

"You weren't getting up."

"That no reason to douse me in water," Taylor said, cross. Then he grinned. "Glomp time!" He lept up from the bed.

"Don't you dare," I scolded, backing up as fast as I could.

Not fast enough. The cold, wet mass that was Taylor tackled me to the ground. I was soaked in an instant.

He laughed. "Ha! Payback is sweet."

"Thanks," I said, grumpy. Then a little bit of the shock hit me. "Taylor, where are we?"

He looked around the room. "Hippie town," he concluded, pulling another smile out of me.

"I know." I got up and flicked the TV on. At first all that showed was static, but then something came into view.

"... And we're all excited for this years Hunger Games, aren't we, Ritha?" said a blue skinned brown haired man.

Fuzz covered the woman Ritha's next few words, but I caught what the man said next. "256 years of fun, now that's more like it! The preliminary in 11 and 7 show promise, don't they?"

"Why yes, Freter, they..." Static noise covered her words again, but now they were showing faces of kids who showed promise. After a few flashed by, I shut the TV off with a click.

"I'm so confused," admitted Taylor, scratching his head.

"I'm not." The reality had already set in for me. We were in the Hunger Games world, that much was clear. I would have been shocked, but knowing where we were, I couldn't afford that. "You know that book series I was obsessed with? The Hunger Games?"

"Isn't that the one where a ton of hungry kids fight for food?" He scratched his nose. "I don't see where your going with this."

"We're in it," I told him. "And they stick 24 kids in an arena to fight to the death on TV, but you got the idea."

He scrunched up his face. "Ew. But I just think this is all a dream."

"But what if it's not?" I grabbed his shoulders. "There is a chance me and you could go in there. It could be slim, but..."

"Probably not. Calm down, Shay."

"I can't. It's..." A flash of paper on the table caught my eye. I picked it up, and realized it was a note like mine, but for Taylor. But as I was setting it down, I noticed writing on the back.

Dear Warsaw family,  
Your son/daughter, Taylor Warsaw, has qualified in the preliminary's for the Hunger Games. Please be by the Justice Building by ten o'clock tomorrow for check in.  
Head Peacekeeper Jintt.

I ripped my note out of my pocket and checked the back. The same note was written on the back of mine, only with my name in it.

"No," I whispered. A look of incredible terror flashed across my face, and my head and hands shook. "Hunger Games," I squeaked out, squishing up my eyes to stop tears. I looked from side to side for Taylor.

"What?" he asked, curious.

"We made it to the final drawing," I spit out, shoving the notes at him. "That means we've got a chance of being drawn. That if we didn't take out tessrae. If we did, then it could be even more likely that one of us is going to die."

"Quit being a drama queen."

"I'm not," I hissed. "Not good, not good." I sat down and put my head in between my knees. "Why else are we suddenly in another world, a new place?" I looked up at him. "I mean, we were almost hit by a car, and now were being told we have even better chances of being in the Games! What else could it be?"

"A dream?" He shrugged. "Don't be too worried about it."

"Fine. But, if we are in Panem, which district? We aren't in the Capitol, in no way, shape, or form." Then I remembered what the note said. "We're in District 11, the agriculture district."

"And how do you figure that?" Taylor asked mockingly. He reached over and snagged some nuts off the table.

"Don't do that!" I grabbed the nuts out of his hand and put them back. "This might just be your whole family's dinner, and you snacking won't help anyone."

"So, me and my two other siblings and my parents are gonna snack on a pile of nuts? Please, Shay, give me a break."

"You don't get it, do you? If this is real, and we are really here, we are dirt poor." I paced, angry. "Not even. We scrounge for berries in meadows so we will have enough energy to go. Don't eat the nuts," I growled out at him.

He held up his hand in defeat. "Fine."

"You know what? I'm not gonna help you. You can figure all this out on your own." With that, I stormed out of the house.

*EPICAL LINE BREAK HERE*

More brownie points to whoever can catch these crossovers!


	5. Mikayla on the reapings

Ah! Sorry for not updating!!

Ha! I had the perfect idea for Kara in starting the bloodbath! You see, she is a spaz, so-

Wait. Why am I telling you this? You'll see it in a few weeks.

Also, I spaced on asking for looks, and some of you guys have them anyway. Kudos to you if you did. I you didn't, I'm gonna make up an appearance for you, so sorry if I'm wrong. I will try to not describe them until you review with the looks, though, as you will see in this chapter.

Quote:

"You only got 8 6 400 seconds in a day, to turn it all around or to throw it all away,  
You gotta tell 'em that you love 'em for you got no chance to stay, Gotta live like your dying..."  
Live Like Your Dying, Kris Allen

*LINE BREAK!!! AVERT YOUR EYES!*

Over the next day, I found out that Ini was in Shay's AP English, the smart freshmen. Her full name was Ini'mikalani Enok, but since us 'non natives' sucked at pronouncing and remembering Hawaiian, she went by Ini. She was fairly quiet and perceptive, and called me Spaz, which was true.

Night rolled around without either of us finding any other people from the past. Ini had this logic where the one reason we had been pulled from the past was to be in the Games, and I agreed with her. That was why we were desperate to find others, to cut down on our chances. It didn't work. We went to our respective homes downtrodden.

In the morning I woke up really early, unable to sleep. My mom from here must of been up late or really early also, because an outfit was all layer out for me. I put it on and went to the kitchen.

"Hey, Kay," said my mom. "I was just making some pancakes. You like bacon, right? I got it fresh from the shop." My mom (I still didn't know her real name) babbled on from over by the stove. Yesterday I had gathered that I was the oldest child, and my only two siblings were six year old twins. My dad ran the butchers, which was creepy. I avoided him.

"Yeah, Mom," I said, interrupting her. "I like all that stuff. Really. How did you know I was going to be up early?"

"You always get up this early when your nervous," she said, plopping a glass of water in front of me. "Drink." She went back to talking.

I zoned out again. Really, this was all pointless. But I started paying attention when she spoke about the reapings. "You won't get picked, your only in there four times. I thank luck every day that you were born into a good family. Imagine being a Cutter, ne'er making enough money, having to take out tesserae. I told your father, when we were married, no tesserae for you. Ever." She went on a who shpeal of her marriage and how her father hated my dad, so I tuned her out again.

When she finally was done with the food, she plopped a huge portion in front of me and commanded me to eat. While I was stuffing myself, she debated over whether or not to waste seconds on me. Apparently if I go on the train I'll be well fed there, but she doesn't want me to feel unloved and-

"Mom, you know me, save the extra." I made all of it up on the spot and hoped it was what I would say.

"Oh, thank you! I'm sure your siblings will love the extra breakfast, not to mention your father. Speaking, I should go get him up. It is reaping day after all, and reapings are at nine..." She was still talking as she left the room.

*THE LINE BREAK IS BACK AGAIN!!!!*

"Look at all the guys," muttered Ini. I had been trying to avoid looking at someone I might have to kill in a week, but it was too late now. Almost all of them were bulky hulk kind of older guys.

I swallowed. "At least we aren't dating any of them," I offered up weakly.

Ini just gave me a weird look. We were standing on the boarder of the 15 and 14 year old roped off zones so we could chat.

The mayor (who just happened to be Ini's father) steps up to the podium. A hush falls over the crowd. He starts in on the lecture of Panem, and I start to fade out. Speeches are not my thing.

Then Mayor Enok starts in on the list of winners from our district. I only recognized one name. Johanna Mason. The other fourteen just slide right off. I do notice a really old lady and two middle aged guys stand up, though. They must be the victors.

An insanely dressed guy strides onto the stage as the mayor says it's time for the reapings. He does this funny little bow thing multiple times and blows kisses to the crowd.

"Happy Hunger Games! May the odds ever be in your favor!" he exclaims cheerfully. "Ladies first!"

This is the time I've been dreading. This guy bounces over to the giant glass ball and reaches his hand in to grab one slip of paper that spelled life or death for me.

"Not me, not me," I begged under my breath.

"Anith Dendron!" he yelled out to the crowd. "Come up to the front!"

A sobbing little twelve year old trudged up to the stage, her shoulders shaking. Right then and there, I make one of those snap decisions that no one ever thinks about.

I decide to volunteer for that girl. She has a whole life ahead of her, and I didn't even really belong here. Who knew. maybe this was all just a dream anyway, and I would wake up safe at home.

Or I could die.

The vibrant man shook the hand of Anith, who then turns to face the audience. "Do we have any volunteers?"

"Me!" I yelled out, thrusting my hand into the air. But I wasn't alone. Two other voices cried out at the same time, and one of them was Ini.

The man on stage was flabbergasted. After a few moments, he began to speak. "Come up to the stage!"

I walked through the crowd with Ini, my head held high. I was determined to not let Ini go.

The other person who walked up to the stage was a girl who was also 14. She looked to be shaking, but from anger or fear I couldn't tell.

"Whats your name?" asked hyper guy to the third wheel.

"Sierra Sinclair," the girl told him in a clear voice.

"And yours?" He leaned at me.

"Mikayla Sizer."

"And...."

"Ini Enok."

"Our mayors daughter! Fabulous!" Hyper man clapped his hands. "Now, in this bowl," he grabbed a bowl someone held to to him from behind, "I have all three of your names. Are you ready?"

I nodded. What an odd way to settle ties. It must not happen much here in seven.

He pulled out the slip, and I'm ashamed to say I was begging for it to be Sierras. I didn't know her, and the only other two options were me or Ini.

My wish came true, but I wasn't sure whether to be happy of angry.

"Sierra Sinclair!" shouted the man. "Better luck next time, ladies." He ushered a shocked me, Ini, and Anith off the stage. I went back and joined the fifteens.

"And now the boys," bounced Hyper man. He strode over to the guy ball, and reached in. I looked around, curious as to who would be reaped.

"Steven Fields!"

A look of pure terror rolled across Sierras face. This Steven guy practically waltzed up to the stage. Hyper man asked for volunteers, and when no one stepped up, he let the two tributes shake hands.

"Happy Hunger Games!" he concluded, smiling at a camera. A few seconds later everything shut down. Everyone started leaving to go home except for the family and friends of the tributes, who watched as their sibling/friend/child was escorted by armed guards to he Justice building.

A sharp pain spiked through my shoulder. "What was that for?" I hissed at Ini, who had her hand in a fist.

"I'm just..." She clenched her hand. "I didn't want to see that little girl go and die, and..." She blinked. "I was mad, and you were the closest thing to punch."

I laughed. "Okay." There was tangible relief in my voice. I was safe, and so was the other person who I trusted.

Just then, I was almost bowled over by two short people. "Kay! Kay!" little jabbery voices yelled up at me. The twins, who I had no name for, were hugging my legs.

My mom ran up and wrapped me in a huge hug. "You scared me!" she scolded. "Don't do that again!"

Two thick arms grabbed me from behind. "That was very brave of you, you know," a deep voice whispered in my ear. "I'm very proud of you. Just don't do it again." Spoken like a true father.

We stayed in our little funfest hug for a few more minutes. Ini was in a similar situation to mine, but just with four older brothers and one younger sister.

Family. What would we do without them.

You seem to be forgetting a little problem, chided a voice in my head. You need to get back home, with your real family and friends.

Tomorrow, I thought back, content at where I was.


	6. Shay  Reaping

So I clicked on this random person's account, (all I can remember is that it started with and or included the word happy) and this story was in the favorites. Slightly creeped me out. If it was possibly you, please review. It would be epical.

*TO LAZY TO THINK OF SOMETHING CLEVER TO GO HERE*

Reaping day. What we were all dreading.

Well, I was dreading. Taylor thought this was all one big joke, and therefore didn't care about anything. I ticked me off. Our 'parents' and 'siblings' just tried to convince themselves that we were fine and safe, that there were thousands of slips. Lies. 

We didn't really have any nice clothes, just a really clean set of work clothes. They itched. 

"Shay, honey, stop scratching," said my mom. She slapped my hand. 

I did not like this woman. "Fine."

"Go help Talya to her age group, now," said my mom, shoving me hard towards my younger sister. She was twelve, and as far as I was concerned a total brat.

I 'helped' her over to the twelve's, and then strutted over to the fifteens. She wasn't even in the ball. They just wanted the options to look wider then they were, and that meant siblings stood with the crowd.

I could see Taylor over in the seventeen's, telling some joke that had a group of nervous boys laughing. I sighed. At least someone was having fun.

The ancient clock gonged eleven times, and everyone fell silent. The mayor, who was despised for his gluttony, wattled up to the stage.

He spoke of how there was a place called North America, and how it was destroyed and a flurries of volcanoes, and earthquakes, disease and tsunamis. How all the people fell, and how the strongest of the strong created Panem out of the ashes of a once great land. How they formed the District system. This is where things went a little crazy.

He said they lived in peace for many years, and the people were happy. But then they decided that protection from the Capitol wasn't enough, and began to form rebellions. Thankfully they were small, but they left the Capitol with no other choice then to punish them all. Thus, the Hunger Games were born.

I was so confused. There was so much more than just that downplayed version of history. But as I looked around, I saw people nodding in agreement. Not happy nodding, but nodding. This was the lies they had been fed, so why not take them?

"Time for tribute calling!" sing sung a purple haired woman on stage. She leapt and bounded across the stage to a big ball, and reached in, pulling out a slip of paper. "Please please," I prayed under my breath.

"Shay Renolds!" My heart sunk as I made my way up to the stage. I was right all along. This was all for me to die.

"Bright, aren't we?" bubbled the woman. "Now the boys!" She literally bounced like a bouncy ball over to the male tribute ball, and I prepared myself for what was coming next.

"Taylor Whutney!" she shrieked out to the crowd. Everyone politely applauded as Taylor made his way up to the stage.

Our fat mayor began reading the Treaty of Treason, and I started daydreaming. Anywhere was better than here. My mind flitted from thinking of Tyler and Britta to school to my parents. I only snapped out of it when they called for Taylor and me to shake hands. Taylor was just vibrating with, well, whatever Taylor is full of. Honestly, if he was full of rubber ducks I wouldn't be surprised.

Peace Keepers lead us over to our worn out Justice building and locked us in separate room. Dangit. It wasn't long until my really weird family came in.

"It's your fault for letting her take out tesserae," fake sobbed my mom, not looking at my dad. "Listen, dear, try to get someone over there to be sympathetic and send us food, all right?"

Talya, the little witch, just looked really smug. "Can I have her blankets?" she suddenly asked, turning to our father. "And her clothes? And her bed?"

"Sure," he said, avoiding looking at me.

I had known this family for all of not even two days and already they are planning what to do my stuff when I'm not even dead yet. What. The. Crap.

"Out," I said, fed up. My parents looked at me, shocked. "Just out." When no one started moving, I shoved my mother towards the door. "I don't care how much you are my family, just get out."

"Listen, girl," said my father, raising his fist.

"Help!" I shrieked.

Peacekeepers burst in the door. Seeing my father's fist, they held up guns. "I suggest you leave," one offered coolly.

My father deliberated for a moment, then grabbed Talya's hand and stormed out, my mother on his heels.

"Thanks," I said, flashing a smile at the dude who helped me. He blinked, shocked, and started pulling his troops through the doors.

A short girl burst in. "Shay!" she cried, bowling into me.

"Slow down!" I laughed, catching the girl and righting her. 

I vaguely recognized her, May or something, as an 11 year old neighbor who was apparently my best friend. "Oh, Shay," she sobbed into my shirt. "This morning I was worried, and my mom was all, 'Now, Maddie, nothing bad will happen today.' She told me to smile. Now look!" Her hands clutched at my shirt.

"Mads, Mads," I said calmingly. "I'll come back, I promise."

She backed up. "Please, wear this," she told my, sniffling. She shoved a complex wristband at me. At closer inspection, I gasped.

It was woven out of grass, in small intricate patterns. Amazing. It spelled out Maddie's name, and when tugged didn't fray. 

"How did you do this?" I questioned, turning my eyes up to the girl, but she was gone.

*THIS LINE IS NOW DUBBED LAWNYAY FOR LACK OF A BETER NAME*

'Kay, I know lots of you like this story. So I have decided, that if you want, I can email you advance, unedited chapters. Shoot me an email if you want some. I have… -thinks- about to chapter 10 typed up. So if you really want to…

Also, I have never been flamed. I want a flame. FLAME ME!

That is all.

Anyone like?

Hate?

Review!


	7. Taylor, day 2

I retrieved this from an email that I had sent to a friend/character submitter. My iPod has been showing signs of life, so that's good.

For those of you just jumping on the band wagon, the iPod I write on froze up. It was all explained in an A/n I deleted and replaced with this.

And now, on with the story!

*THIS LINE BREAK IS TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD*

After the hamburger taco dinner, I went home to do my homework. I didn't really feel comfortable with leaving an unwired Shay with Britta, but she assured me that she could take care of it. Whatever it was.

The next day I slept in till noon. My mom kicked me out of bed, which was pretty typical of her. She usually wanted me to do one chore or another.

"Go to Taylor's," my mom said unexpectedly.

"Why?" I asked, stretching.

"His mom said he's been acting weird all day," confessed my mom, snapping open the blinds. My eyes screamed in protest.

"Mmm," I agreed, rolling over.

"Take him to the movies or something," my mom said. I barely heard her, and she must have noticed, because the next second I was on the floor.

All the air in my lungs huffed out. "Fine," I wheezed. Your mom pulling on your sheets hard? Not a good way to wake up.

After I made myself decent (taking a three minute shower and throwing in shorts and a shirt), my phone vibrated. It was a text from Taylor.

My mom wants us to hang.

Um, sure. I'll be there to pick you up in like ten minutes or so. We'll go to the movies or something.

I sent my reply, and shuffled down the stairs. "Mom, can I have ten bucks?"

My mom looked up from behind the computer. "Why?" She eyed my dripping hair skeptically.

"I'm going to the movies."

She pulled out her wallet and handed me the money. "Are you-"

"Yes!" I yelled, already sprinting up the stairs for the keys and my phone. I had no idea what she was going to ask, and didn't really care.

It only took two minutes to get to Taylors house. Indigo Valley wasn't that far from the Heights, where me and my wonderful family of three lived. But the houses in the Indi were bigger, and Taylor's parents had a houseful.

Example number one: When I drove up an epic sword fight was going on in the street in front of the house with about six kids between the ages of eight and twelve, all of them siblings.

Example number two: I can't even count how many toys I tripped over on my way into the house, which had an open door policy. You knew them, you didn't knock. Four kids stopped and asked me why I was there, too.

Example number three: Have you ever almost been trampled by a herd of Hannah Montana crazed young girls? Yeah, it hurts. Especially when you have to jump onto the outside edge of the banister and hold on until they passed. And that one wasn't even a good example.

He had a big family. And by big, I meant that if you gave them a few more years they would beat out the Duggers.

Eventually I maneuvered my way safely up to Taylor's room. He was just lying on his bed. Not like a sleepy lying, but a someone just died kind of lying. Taylor was a well of never ending energy, so it was odd to see him so, well, lazy.

"Come on, bud. Let's go to the movies," I said, nudging him. His eyes swung over to look at me, and they were empty. Like, all of his lights were off, kind of like Shay was when we brought her home from the hospital.

He stood up and followed me like a, well, robot. No, that's not the right word. It was like he wasn't there. He was going through the motions until his train got back.

And that made no sense.

"What movie?" I asked as I kick started my car. He just shrugged and looked out the window. Several of his siblings chased us as I drove away.

"Dude, what is wrong?" I said, angrily gripping the wheel. "You and Shay are acting like your dead or something." And it was really pissing me off.

He just shrugged.

But then that weird mood swing I saw Shay have came over him too, only it wasn't anger. He laughed, and his face was really bright. "I'll be fine," he reassured me. At least, I think it was me, considering that I was the only person in the car.

"I didn't ask that!" I swear, if I wasn't driving I would have slammed my head on something. "I asked what's wrong."

But if Taylor heard, he didn't anoledge it. He was back in his own little emo corner.

*LIVE LIKE YOUR DYING! ~KRIS ALLEN*

The movie we ended up seeing was Avatar, at one of those corny dollar theaters that you only go to see the old movies. I was surprised they were still playing it, since it was on DVD, but whatever floats their boat.

"Dude," I said, waving my hand in front of Taylor's face. He was finishing the popcorn while just sitting on a bench outside. Nothing I did could convince him to move. "I give up." I flopped down on the bench next to Taylor and took some popcorn.

"You too?" asked a quiet voice. I looked up to see someone vaguely familiar looking at Taylor.

I nodded. "Nothing I do can get him to 'come alive'," I said, using air quotes.

The girl blushed. "That's just like my friend Ash. She won't talk. Not that she did it that much before." A nervous laugh escaped her. She nodded across the lobby to a girl who was looking blankly at a cutout of some Twilight characters.

"Mhm," I said. "Where do I know you from?"

"School." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Clair Sage. You're Thomas or something, right? From the baseball team?"

"Tyler," I said, shaking her hand, "but you got it close enough. Taylor here isn't the only one, eh?" We both looked over at Taylor, who was still munching his popcorn.

"No," she said, worried.

"Well, I already knew that." I frowned. "My girlfriend, Shay, she's like this too. Or she was yesterday." I shrugged. "Bring your friend over here, we'll see what they're like."

She nodded, and dragged her friend over. Now that I saw this girl next to Taylor, I could see the resemblance. Blankness. It was the only work that could describe them. They were just gone.

"Question," I said, scratching my ear. "Has, um..."

"Ashton," Clair confirmed.

"Yeah," I rushed out. "Has she ever changed? Like, said anything weird?"

Clair's face twisted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Like, has she-"

"To the death?" screeched Ashton. Her face drained of blood, and her hands formed claws against her shirt. "You're kidding, right?" Then, like a switch flipping of, she returned to blank. People gave us some strange looks.

"-ever done that," I finished. That helped.

"Not until now," said Clair, looking to her friend.

I was getting frustrated. "You know, I'll see you at school. If she says anything more, tell me, okay?" Taylor stood up as if he knew what was happening, and walked to the door. "I'm going to figure this out." I jogged after him, leaving an opened mouth girl behind me.

So it wasn't just me. Other kids were acting strange.

Was Mikayla?

The idea struck me hard. I pulled out my cell phone and speed dialed her house.

"Sizer residence," said Kay's mom on the other end.

"Mrs. Sizer?"

"Tyler? How are you?"

"Good," I replied, nearly tripping over a huge rock as I pulled out my keys and unlocked my car. "Listen, something weird is happening. Has Mikayla been different?"

"Well..." She hesitated. "You know how normally we can't get her to calm down and shut up?" she asked in a rush. "The only thing she's said since the accident was yelling 'Me!' at breakfast. She almost smacked her father when her hand flew into the air."

"Huh." I bit my cheek. "Call you later." Rude, I know, but I hung up. I had to call Britta.

"Hello?" she picked up in a peppy tone.

"Has Shay made any improvement?"

"Oh! Tyler!" I could hear her bite her lip. "No. She hasn't said a word since last night, when she spoke about a witch Talya."

"Yeah, well, Taylor is the same way, and so is a girl from school. I just spoke with a friend of hers, with her standing right next to us like we weren't there." Britta sucked in a breath. "There's more. By the sounds of things, Mikayla is the same. Do you have any idea-"

"No." Britta sighed. "Let's just hope it goes away." With a click, I knew she was gone. I flipped my phone closed angrily and looked over at Taylor. He looked like he had heard nothing.

What was going on?

That's it. I was getting Mikayla and going over to Shay's.

*THIS LINE BREAK IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MY LOVE OF POPCORN*

M'kay, this was a weird chapter to write. I really can't wait for you guys to read the chariot scene. Tiz mcawesomene!

Clair Sage is a character submitted by calypso3266. She had this awesome character who fit nowhere in my plot at all. I really wanted to use her, though, so this is the result. Do you like it? She's more important then you would think. I most defiantly will be using her more.

Review!


	8. Shayalaya on the recaps

Double update! Yay!

This was also pulled off said email. If you just went straight to this chapter, read the last one. It's a replacement of the A/n.

*MY GUY FRIEND LANE IS OBSESSED WITH LADY GAGA. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?*

Dishes clanked as forks scrapped plates, and glasses clinked as they were drunk from. The food all tasted like sawdust to me, but I was way more used to this kind of food anyway.

"So," said our mentor, Tilip, trying to break the silence. "You two know each other?"

Taylor snorted. "Know each other? We practically live together. We're like siblings." He took another bite of turkey. "There was this one time, when we were playing Modern World-"

I kicked him under the table, hard. His eyes flew to me, and I sent him dagger glares. "Yeah, we're best friends," I told the woman.

"That's too bad," she said, giving us a sympathetic look.

Taylor rolled his eyes.

Tellree, our purple headed guide, looked down at her plate. "I hate this job."

We all looked up at her in shock.

"Tell," warned a gruff voice. Edan, our male mentor, walked in behind us. He pulled back a chair and rolled up his sleeves. I noticed a crisscrossing pattern of scars all over his forearm, and gulped. "Not here," he continued. "Let's get down to business."

Oh no. Whenever Taylor heard the beginning of a Disney song, he burst into an off key rendition. I kicked his legs again and shook my head no when he looked my way, pissed.

"Do you two feel the need to train together?" asked Tilip, looking oddly at Taylor, who had gotten over his brief fit of anger and was making faces at a shiny pot. I did not understand that boy.

"Yes," I rushed out. No way could I leave crazy Taylor alone. He might spill everything. I tried not to think about how one or both of us would be dead in the next month. How I may just have to kill him.

I shook my head, shocked. Kill Taylor? Could I? Would I?

"Good." Edan barked. "Let's go watch the readings." He led us into another, theatre-like room and clicked on the TV.

"Welcome to the reaping for the 256th Hunger Games! I'm your host, Freter Corbyn, here with Ritha Tyrala." The high pitched male voice was much clearer than the one that had come out of Taylors set at home, and I laughed. This guy sounded like a gay guy. "We're here to give update you on every moment of the Hunger Games! Now, let's go to..." I tuned his out his voice and payed attention only to the screen.

District 1 had the usual bulky volunteers. I actually got a giggle out of the girl. She looked like an ape. District 2 had a rather small guy, and the girl was named after a spice or something. I can't really remember. But District 3 pulled me up short.

I could remember that face anywhere. The female tribute looked exactly like a girl in my art class, Ashley or something. She accidently smashed my vase in third quarter.

"Pause it!" I screeched. As if on voice command, the viewing stopped. "Can I get some paper?" I asked sheepishly, my face flushed.

Not even five seconds later, an attendant came in with a pad of paper and a pen. "Thank you." I grabbed the pen and ignored the stares I was getting. "Play," I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. The screen started going again.

Her name was Ashton Renny, and she looked utterly confused and clueless. I quickly jotted down her name, district, and a few other random tidbits I knew about her from other sources. The male from the district held no interest for me, but I did put down his name. Blink.

District 4 time. First up was Kara Conway, a spunky freshmen who sat at my lunch table. We rarely ever talked, but she was nice. Also up was David Ray, a senior who was a huge bully.

Both of them volunteered. I tried not to think about that.

District 5 had Melena and Derek, people I didn't know. I didn't pay attention to that reaping.

6 had a girl I tutored in English. She was an exchange student from Japan, and her name was Azami. Kyle Spell, notorious for dating the popular girls, was also present.

Seven scared the crap out of me. A little twelve year old was called up, and she was sobbing. Three people volunteered, and I knew every one of them. One was Mikayla, who looked disheveled. The second was a girl with a long Hawaiian name in my AP English, Ini. Third was my best friend from Colorado, Sierra. She was chosen. The guy I recognized from pictures to be her boyfriend, Steven.

"Mikayla?" gasped Taylor. I looked over to see him oogolng at the screen.

"What's so surprising about her?" asked Tilip.

"She's our best friend," explained and awed Taylor, before I could stop him.

"Sh!" I hissed, trying to pay attention. Eight was showing, but it only had people I didn't know. Liola and Stich. I jotted down their names.

The 12 year old girl in nine was my mom's best friend's daughter. I vaguely recognized her as Aureila Abcott, since her last photos I saw were over a year ago. The next tribute shocked me again.

"Oh, please no!" I gasped. "Marcus, please, no!"

"Who?" asked Edan. They hadn't even said the name yet.

I spun to face him. "Marcus Godby. He looks really strong," I covered.

"Oh," Tellree said.

I started paying attention to the reapings again.

Parvati Sheelow, the cocky queen bee of the school who once dated Spell, was the next victim in ten. Eleven hosted me and Taylor, and twelve had the quite girl in my English class, Astrid Whitlock.

The screen lost all power in a crackle.

I weakly grinned at Tyler. "At least we know we're not alone."

"I'm still not convinced this isn't a really weird dream," admitted Taylor. He got up and left.

All three sets of remaining eyes turned to me.

"What was all that about?" demanded Edan.

"Uh..." Would it be wise to tell them? "Migraine," I muttered, storming out of the room with my pad of paper in hand.

*THIS IS MY GOOD SIDE*

NEWS!

Reviewing gets your character credit with me. Just saying. Didn't submit one? Just comment on your favorite.

R&R, peeps.


	9. Tyler just loves crazy here

Next chapter is where the real fun starts. It's the chariots. From there on out I'm going to have a blast while writing. Well, almost. Tyler has a few more chapters untill he figures it out.

By this point, it is about twently four hours that the kids have been under. It's only Saturday afternoon back in the past. Shay, Taylor, and Mikayla have just barely finnished with the reapings.

Quote:

Iggy has a celery fetish.  
-Saint Fnag of Boredom

*I'M IN THE YEARBOOK ON THE ORCHESTRA PAGE PLAYING MY BASS!*

Day 2, Tyler, night

"Mrs. Sizer?" I asked when she opened the door.

"What do you want?" she asked, catious. Well, I would be too if my chatty daughter was dead to the world.

"To take Mikayla over to Shays."

"Fine." She opened to door a little more. "You have to go get her, she's just sitting on the couch."

Too true. Mikayla was on the couch, doing nothing. When I looked in her eyes, she was just gone, like Bella was in Twilight when Edward left.

I did not just refrence Twilight. Please tell me I didn't. Argh, never mind.

I grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her off to my car. I was about to start it when Mrs. Sizer came out.

"What are you going to do?" she asked me, glancind around the street.

"Try to figure out what's wrong." I jabbed me thumb at Taylor in the passenger seat. "He's acting like it, too."

"Good luck," she sighed. I nodded and rolled up my window. Now to Shay's.

My car rolled into the driveway with ease, and I shut it off as quickly as I could. The only way I could get Taylor and Mikayla to move was if I dragged them inside, so I did. I didn't even knock.

"Who's there?" yelled Britta from upstairs. "I'm warning you, I have a gun."

"Your lies are pathetic," I called back. "Its me, Tyler. I brought Thing one and Thing two."

Britta came to the top of the stairs and practicly flew down the steps, engulfing me in a hug. "Hey, guys," she started, turning to them. She gasped in shock and dropped the book she was carrying right onto my foot.

"Ow!" I hissed, but she took no notice.

"You weren't lying," she commented. "They really are the same."

Mikayla jumped about ten feet into the air and screammed. "That was Shay!" she yelled. "Ini, that is Shay! We're not alone!" She bounced up and down, her flaying arms smacking Taylor, who had started to move away. Kay's face then got a horrible expresion. "Oh, no, oh no," she cried. "Shay's gonna die!" She sank on the floor and hurried her head in her hands, where she got quiet.

It only stayed silent for a few more seconds. "Pause it!" Shay yelled from another room. My head snapped in that direction.

"What was that?" exclaimed Britta.

"I have no idea." I sank down onto a couch and placed my head in my hands. Taylor was still standing, compleatly unafected. "Whatever Mikayla is thinking of, Shay is there."

"Thats really weird." Britta grabbed her book from off the floor and plopped down on the couch right next to me.

I stood up. "I'm gonna go place them next to Shay or something," I said, ruffling my hair. "See if they snap out of it."

She nodded. Mikayla, who seemed to has regained control over herself for a few moments, got up and wandered into the family room. I directed Taylor right after her. Shay was on the couch, gripping a pen like her life depended on it.

"What is up with you?" I said, frustrated. This was so stupid.

"Ashton," she muttered.

I sighed and plopped down next to her. "So you've meet Ashton now, huh?" Ashton. Why did that sound familiar?

Shay started moving the pen, almost like carving it. The problem was that she didn't have paper, and she was scratching her leg.

"Do you need some paper?" I threw a notebook at her. She gripped it and started writing.

...in Art, she looks confused, friends with Clair, 15  
Blink Vavrite, 13, don't know  
D4 Kara Conway, freshmen, 14, CRAZY  
David Ray, senior, idiot  
D5 Melena Woorben, 16, don't know  
Derek Mallik, 12, don't know  
D6 Azami, junoir/senior, I tutor in English,  
Kyle Spell, Junior, cocky know it all  
D7 Sierra Sinclair, (a ton of indeciferable ink splotches)  
Steven  
Mikayla

"MIKAYLA!" Taylor yelled. He jumped up and down.

What the... I looked back at the paper Shay was scratching out.

Mikayla  
Ini, in my English class  
D8 Liola, 17  
Stich, 18  
D9 Aureila Abcott, moms bff daughter?  
Marcus Godby  
D10 Parvati Sheelow, junior, queen bee  
Blarner  
D11  
Me and Taylor  
D12 Astrid Whitlock, in my English  
Sanda

She stopped writing. I double checked over the list. Some of these people I knew, like Kyle and Parvati. But who was Liola, who was Sierra?

"Uh... Brit, you might want to come look at this..." I trailed off, unsure. She came in the room with a mug of hot coaco, and I pointed at the paper. She grabbed it from Shays hands and glanced over it.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, voice tight.

"Shay just carved it into the paper," I explained.

"Oh." She got quiet. "What does this mean?"

"I don't know. Are these people who she is thinking of?" I shrugged. "We'll ask her when she snaps out of it."

"But what if she doesn't?" Britta sounded scared, which was really odd to hear coming from her. She withstood so much, and has this huge burden, and she never once broke down and quit.

"They won't," I reasured. "I hope."

Britta jabbed her finger at the paper. "That's our cousin. You don't think..."

"Only one way to tell." I walked over to the phone and tossed it at Britta. She started dialing, then put it on speaker.

"Godby residence," said a rough male voice on the other end of the line. "Who is this?"

"Britta, Uncle."

"How's my girl?" A jolly laugh echoed across the phone line. "Why don't you come down for a visit? We're only an hour away."

"I can't. I have work, you know that."

A sigh. "One can wish. So what brings you a calling?"

"A quick question." Brit swallowed. "Has Marcus been acting odd?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." The voice got more serious. "He won't tell us anything. Won't even talk. It's like he went on vacation and left his body."

"Oh. I have to go!" Britta lunged at the phone.

"Wait! Do you know-" The line went dead.

"That was just," Britta's hands shook, "too weird."

"I know. But what does this mean?" It was silent for a few moments.

Then Shay let out an earth shattering scream.

*LINE BREAK! LIVE WITH IT!*

You know what I want for my birthday? A button that says 'My FanFiction, My Rules, Screw You,' from St. Fang of Boredom's Zazzle store. Check it out. She goes by the username that I put down.

Anyway, don't eat the yellow snow, watch out for racoons, don't give out your personal info on the 'nets (oops), and R&R. 


	10. Mikayla, chariots

I've decided to upchuck chapters today, guys. Love me.

Ah! Chariot times abound! I just know you guys are gonna luffles this chapter to death!

I have a drawing contest at the end of this. You guys should check it out.

Popcorn cake? Some say it's not possible. I beg to differ. It's delicious.

Quote:

"We won't say our goodbyes, we know it's beter that way,"  
OneRepublic, All We Are

*SHNAP! WHERE ARE MY COCOA CRISPIES?*

Day 3, Mikayla

I was trying not to self implode. Ini's family, being practicly royalty, had an amazing TV set in their home, one with good reception. Ini invited me over to watch the opening cerimony of the Games with  
her. On my hand I had written a list in a berry juice that was not unlike henna of all the kids I knew that were up there. My mom wasn't too happy, but, hey, my arm.

Nine kids were on my arm. Chances were telling me only one of them could possibly make it, and odds were against the ones that mattered to me.

I tried to not let it get to me.

Ini told me who was in it that she remebered, because yesterday when watching the recaps I saw Shay durring the very begining and freaked out, thereby causing me to pass out. Not really that fun.

I started bouncing up and down on the plush couch, trying not to squeal in delight. The mayor was making popcorn in honor of the Hunger Games. Popcorn! Here it was a delacy, but back home I was addicted to the stuff. I even had a popcorn birthday cake once. The smell from the kitchen was amazing, addicting. It almost gave me a high.

I loved popcorn.

"Calm down!" Ini was trying, and failing, to not laugh at my excitment.

"But it's corn full of air!" My arms moved wildly through the air. "How can you not be happy?" She atempted to stuff back a fit of giggles, and failed.

"Here you are, girls," said the mayors wife, handing us small bowls of popcorn. I tried to wait. I really did. But who can resist popcorn?

"Slow down!" belly laughed the mayor.

"Lans, turn on the TV," said the mayors wife. The little nine year old flipped on the set, and it came to life with a gentle glow.

Some stupid Games reporters with silly accents were talking, but I tuned them out. It was a skill that I learned in Biology. Ignore the teacher in there enough, and he gave you a rubix cube. I know, it didn't really make sense, but I wanted the toy. Crazy seventy year old men losing their memory.

Then the first chariots came out. District 1 was hidious, which must have been a first. I think the only word to describe them was Cullen. Bleck. Their skin literaly sparkled, throwing light ten times farther then it was suposed to. Their clothing was almost non existant and made of jewels, giving the illusion of dimonds growing out of their skin.

"Sparklepire," muttered Ini through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Just what I was thinking." We high fived. "Leeches. Hm. New nickname?" Ini nodded.

The leeches acted like they had no idea how to perform in front of an audience, standing compleatly still. Fail. I didn't honestly care for them, anyway.

District 2 was sort of impressive. Their chariot had mini lab explosions going off all around it, and they were dressed in your typical 'mad scientist' look.

"Whitecoats," said Ini. I think this trend of nicknames would continue. It was fun.

District three had someone of slight importance to me. She was in my first and fourth grade classes, the weird girl who drew hands really well. Ashton Renny, she was. The outfit was, well, the best description was a half finnished Iron Man costume.

"Iron Men!" I chuckled. Ini nodded, then grabbed some scrap paper and a pen off a nearby table to record our nicknames.

District 4 blew me away. Both tributes were people I knew, a hyper freshmen Kara, and an idiot named David. They were growing out of a wave, I kid you not. Fish were swiming in it and everything. From the waist up it got progressivly thinner untill nothing was on their heads.

"Fish," whispered Ini. I peeked over her shoulder and saw her write fish like 'Phish'. Cool.

Five was unimpressive. Yeah, you look like your carved from metal. Big whoop. Six just had a transforming suit that was, frankly, pathetic. Seriously? I knew both kids from six, but I tried not to remeber them. Don't want to get too atached, seeing as they might be dead soon.

Seven was impressive. Multicolored streamers spilled off them, whipped around them in whirlwinds. They were a commanding storm, causing them to draw atention. Energy in the form of mini lightning bolts shot everywhere off of them. With their devil makeup, they were deadly.

Everyone in the room had thier jaws on the floor. It was shocking. My  
description wasn't anywhere near what it looked like.

"Woah," breathed 16 year old Dayton at the sight of the suits that Eight was hosting. They constantly were changing from one fashion to another, always moving. I didn't like it that much.

Nine was almost the exact same as Five, with kids that looked carved out of stone. Boring.

Ten was angels of death. It was an overplayed thing for them. Livestock keeping also entailed the killing and packaging of the meat, and aparently the stylists were too thick in the heads to be creative.

I steeled myself as eleven came on the screen. Shay and Taylor were laughing. Both of them were in unasuming reddish brown jumpsuits. Shay had some sort of ball in her hands. The camera panned away from them all too quick, focusing on twelve, who looked lame in suckish hooker miner geddup. But not even two seconds later did the camera snap back to my crazy friends.

Shay was shrieking laughter as the object in her hand exploded with vines that crawled all up her arm and over her. They spilled over her hands and across the ground, snaking up Taylors legs. He screamed like a little girl and jumped up and down, and Shay chided him for his stupidity. They started joking around again as the vines wound their merry way across their bodies, even a few strands up their faces and into their hair.

Um. Wow.

The anouncers were debating over who they thought were the best. Aparently over half of the designs were never before seen in Hunger Games history. Then the anthem and President Yurt's speach started, and they had to stop the useless fighting. At the end of the anthem, the chariots took one final loop around the square before disapearing into their new home.

I laughed. "Some of those were really good," I said, turning to Ini.

Her face was more grim. "Yeah."

"Come on," I said, mock punching her. "Whats up?"

"A lot," she snapped. "All of those kids are going to be dead in a few weeks. And I have no idea how to get back." She slammed her head into her lap.

"Oh." That put a damper on my mood like a bucket of water on a campfire. Yeah. Most of those kids were going to die, and I laughed at their weaknesses. I was a jerk.

*MY COOKIE CRISP! THOSE DANG KIDS!*

Okay, I want to see what you guys think good nicknames for the districts are. We got leeches, whitecoats, IMs, and phishes. District 11 is sylvae.

Also, I am now having a contest for whoever can draw the chariot outfits, the new never-before-seen ones. You think your the best? Submit! Winner will get all the advance chapters I have stored up, which could be as much as 6 more chapters.

Get drawing!


	11. Shay, More Chariots!

Yay! more updates by me molly.

More chariots! This is from a tributes point of view.

Do you know how hard it is to bite with a retainer in? It's hard! And it gives you a permanent lisp.

Quote:

"If only you could frost someone to death."  
Katniss, Hunger Games

*I LOVE AND HATE MY STUPID RETAINERS!*

Day 3, Shay

That night, I screamed into my pillow. How come it was so hard? I also tried hard to not think of home, and Britta. My sister. I wonder how she was, and if I was gone wherever she was. If I was still there.

What would happen when I died, back there with Britta?

The consequence of staying up late to take out frustrations by beating up inanimate objects was getting up late. I barely had time to scarf down a roll and some bacon (which is meat candy, just so you know) before my very own prep team descended on me like a pack of wolves.

"Such lovely skin!" a flower girl child gushed. She didn't look much older then I was, maybe eighteen at the most. I made a mental note to fake becoming her friend. Give someone in the Capitol some pain when I die.

"Yes, it is," murmured Reska. This woman had no mercy, scrubbing away every layer of my skin with no promise of a lollypop. And before you ask, the flower girl child did offer me one.

These two were the only members of my prep team. The third, who was a guy from what I could gather, was promoted to District 4, and my stylist was too lazy to get another person to take over. Pity that I couldn't meet another human before my murder. (Catch my sarcasm there.)

"I think that's enough, ladies," a boisterous voice sung out from behind me. I turned around and saw the woman behind me.

Oh, please no. Whatever force controlled the universe, it wanted me dead. That creature was pink. Pink! From head to toe, the pale color was coating the woman. And she was in charge of my wardrobe.

Help. Me.

She waltzed around me, her hungry, pink eyes taking in every inch of my exposed body like a piece of meat. Her tongue made impatient clicking noises, like she didn't like what she got.

"Cheese me," she snapped. Flower girl-child (yes, I didn't know her name yet) hopped up and handed her a toothpick with a square of cheese on it. Pink woman's attention was averted souly to the cheese for the few measly moments it was in this world. Can you say pig? 'Cause I can, really easily. Just not to this woman's face. That would most likely end up with me royally skewered during the bloodbath because she failed to make me look good.

"So," she said, smacking her lips. "We need something new. Should we waste the weapon on this girl?" She turned to my prepers.

Reska looked at the floor, and flower girl bit her lip. "The boy is pretty willing..." trailed the flower girl.

"Yes, Lisa, that's true," noted my stylist. "Get me the jumper."

"Yes!" squealed Lisa, running across the room to a closet. She pulled out a dress bag and tossed it at Reska, who caught it and zipped it open. My stylist pulled out a reddish brown jumpsuit.

Are you kidding? I wanted to scream. It looked like those scuba diving suits, and had nothing to do with plants, or fruits. This woman would be the death of me.

"Put it on, girl," snapped the woman. All I was to her was meat on a platter. I snatched the stupid thing away and pulled it on.

"Sit," the woman commanded. The next half an hour was spent on this woman 'improving' my looks in every way possible. There are a lot of ways, let me tell you. Painful, painful ways.

Reska got up and left the room about halfway through my torture on order from my stylist, who's name turned out to be Yeta or something. She came back with an unassuming glass ball.

"Follow me," commanded Yeta. We all paraded out the doors and into an elevator that sped down to the main level. Once there, I was overwhelmed with sound.

Attendants rushed to and fro, franticly trying to get horses satled up and attached to the chariots. Stylists were either putting the finishing touches on their tributes or ganging in jealousy at others work. Yeta lead me to 11's chariot.

"Now, be happy," she told me. Not big on words, this one. She passed me the glass ball. "Don't let go." With that, she spun out of sight.

I turned to Taylor. "Looking good," I teased. He was in the same suit that I was in.

He grimaced. "They don't really go for comfort," he said, scratching his shoulder. "I don't really get it. Why do we have to get all dressed up, anyway?"

I gripped the glass ball in my hands tighter. "It's to get us possible sponsors. People who can send us gifts and stuff."

"For what?"

Naive Taylor. "For the Games, duh." I didn't really want to tell him.

"Ah." Our chariots started moving, and I reached out and grabbed Taylor's hand for support. If I hadn't, I would have fallen over for sure.

"Hey, say something funny," I asked Taylor, feeling queasy.

"Uh, like what?"

"Something about your cousins. Anything." We needed to appear carefree.

"Okay." He launched into a tale of how they had played hide and seek once, and his cousin got stuck on the roof. It was pretty good retelling with facial expressions and everything, and I was cracking up so much that I didn't even notice the fact that we were out in the open. With a whole country watching.

I think I turned green.

The glass ball in my hand suddenly got really, really hot. Nearly burning. I felt something crawling up my arm, and tried to supress my urge to scream with a laugh.

Taylor had no such restraint. Her screamed when the vines that has popped out of the ball started growing up him. This turned my fake laughter into real laughter.

"Taylor," I choked out, "stop. It's safe. Promise." The look he gave me was so odd that I burst out into more laughter.

By this point the vines from the ball were everywhere. They weaved themselves into almost a prom dress for me, intricate designs covering my arms. I felt my face as the growth made it's way up to my hair, entangling itself there. A few strands worked their way onto my face.

Taylor's vines just grew all over him. Like me, some was in his hair and on his face. He flashed his crooked smile, then spit as a vine grew into his mouth, causing him to frown.

We rode the rest of the way trying not to burst into laughter. Even during the speech and anthem I would giggle. Taylor laughed at my laugh, and it all spiraled from there.

The horses went around the circle one more time before leading us into our new home. As soon as they stopped, I hopped off the chariot.

Bad idea.

You see, the vines were still tangled together, linking me and Taylor. When I jumped, he was yanked after me, right off our ride. Right on top of me, actually. All the air rushed out of my lungs in one big omph.

"Ow," hissed Taylor. He rolled off of me and attempted to use the cart to stand. Me being on the floor just pulled him right back down. Unable to resist, I laughed.

"I thought you had a boyfriend, Renolds!" came a call from across the room. I recognized the voice.

"You would know, Conway," I called right back. The voice belonged to Kara, a extremely hyper freshmen who sat at my lunch table. She was pretty good friends with Mikayla. "But apparently he decided not to show."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing?" she shot back. Why, yes, it was. "Get a room if you want to use your ho!"

"Do you just not like me, Conway?" teased Taylor. He sat up and looked over in Kara's general direction.

"What-"

"I think the title ho fits with Tyler better," came a new voice, cutting off Kara. I rolled my eyes, still on the floor. Only Sierra...

"And who are you?" Kara asked, in a slightly mocking voice.

"A friend," Sierra dodged.

I sat up and looked around. Most of the kids I knew from home were laughing or smiling. The tributes who I didn't know stood over by the elevators, looking really confused.

I bit my lip. "Isn't somebody gonna get me out of this thing?" I hollered.

I heard the clicking of her heels before I saw Reska. She had a little spritz bottle in hand, and she used it to dissolve the plants attached to me. Taylor popped up, and then yanked me off the ground, nearly pulling my arm off in the process. From what I could see, the Capitol people were ushering everyone over to the elevators.

Reska roughly grabbed my arm and dragged me in the same direction. Somehow she managed to snag an elevator without anyone else in it. The ride up was silent.

When the doors opened, I found everyone waiting for us. Tilip, and Edan stood off to one side, with Yeta and the guy who must've been Taylor's stylist on the other. Tellree stood in between them, as if she wasn't sure who's side she was on.

Okay, admittedly Yeta was weird. She also only viewed me as a canvas to do as she pleased. But I had to give her credit for my amazing costume. According to the screams of my name during the opening ceremonies, we had made a splash. So as soon as I saw her, I launched myself at her.

"Thank you so much!" I gushed. Who am I kidding. I was just trying to get her to care, so when I died she might feel some sense of remorse, of a need to change.

She pried my arms off herself. "Your welcome," she answers me stifly. I could tell she didn't like my affection.

Huge arms grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the ground. I clawed at them, but my hands had no effect.

"You didn't give me a hug," boomed a voice.

"Can't...breath..." I gasped. The arms set me down. I turned around and saw that it was Taylor's stylist who had put me in the headlock.

"Uh, thanks," I blushed. Aw-k-ward.

"Food," groaned Taylor. "I went through the physical torture of makeup being put on me, and then being paraded in front of a huge crowd. I want food."

"This way," said Edan in a gruff voice. He lead us down the hallway to a table. Avoxs' lined the walls. We all took a seat, and the feast was brought out.

I don't really remember much of the feast, just a bit here and there. I had a lot on my mind. Throughout the day I had been skirting around my worst conflict, but now it was taking root.

What was worse? Winning the Hunger Games and possibly having to kill your friends, or helping them win, dying in the process?

If I won, I could try to figure out a way back. But I would have to live knowing that in my survival, someone had to die for me. Well, even if I lost, someone still might have died for me, but still.

I could win, or I could die.

Halfway through this internal debate, I went to bed. But once in my room I couldn't sleep. Did I even want to win?

Listen, the voice in my head said. You could win. Or you could help Taylor win, or Sierra. Don't they deserve it?

They did. And suddenly I knew what I was going to do.

I would do the ultimate protest against the Hunger Games. I would go in, and intend to never come out.

I was going to help Taylor win.

*READ THE LOOKING GLASS WARS. IT'S ALYSS, NOT ALICE, DUMMY.*

The mentors don't know about the thing that happened at the end of the chariots. Yet. Just wait.

My high school pawns all others. We said goodbye to seniors, and then had a huge party that involved a giant inflatable dragon obstacle course, giant inflatable slide (at least 60 feet high), and an inflatable wrestling thing where you whack a friend with a giant stick. They had live bands and had restraunts coming in and selling food.

It ROCKED.

We also have this huge ceremony where they move your class up a whole seating place in the gym. There is a seating place for every class (freshmen, sophmore, junior, senior) and you have to sit there. At the end of the year they do a moving up assembly and move everyone.

According to that, I am officially a sophomore. Woooo! (Vera, you still don't know how old I am. Just my grade now.)

Wanna know what would be creepy? If someone from my school read this and was like, "That's my high school!" and they didn't know me. Then they tried to stalk me.

You know what? If that sounds like your school, review and tell me. I want to know who you are.

That doesn't count for those of you who are my friends and I -koffkoff- forced you -koffkoff- to read this. Which, for this story, is, um, one. Or two, if you count Molly's brother, but I don't. (Hi, B!)


	12. The end

M'kay, so I've quite literally lost everything for this story, and it would take too much effort to be able to get all of the information and pre written chapters back. So I putting the concept of the time-travel Hunger Games up for grabs. If you want it, just review or PM me that you're using it and then credit me in the first chapter of your story. Or don't. It doesn't really matter to me, but if you review or PM me I will read it.

For those of you who wanted to know, I'll give a general synopsis of what would have happened.

The arena would have been placed in the area where Shay's parents died, causing her to have a panic attack during the Games. She gets into an alliance with Taylor (duh), Kara, Sierra, Steven, Aureila, and Marcus during training, but once in the arena it ends up to be just her, Taylor, Kara, and Sierra, because Steven and Aureila die in the bloodbath and Marcus never meets up with them. One of the future kids dies by walking off the starting plate early, and the force of the explosion pushes another kid off. Another plate malfunctions, and another future kid dies in the resulting explosion.

Back in the past, Tyler and Shay's sister, Britta, realize that around a dozen kids are acting like zombies, still going through the routine but never speaking or interacting with those around them, Shay, Taylor and Mikayla included. In moments of high tension in the future, the 'zombie' kids scream things out, and from the things they're yelling Tyler figures out that they're in the Hunger Games. With nothing else to really do, they simply wait. When the kids die in the Hunger Games, they snap back to their bodies in 2011, but all the injuries transfer over in the form of scars, which in some cases have to be hidden.

Back in the Games, people continue to die. Sierra gets poisoned by a plant and goes crazy, trying to kill the other three. In a desperate measure, Shay shoots her in the neck with an arrow, killing her. They continue moving towards the mountain, with Shay feeling guilty for killing her friend but not being able to show it. She decideds that if it comes down to it, she'll kill herself rather then her friends. But while they're moving, Azami attacks them and Shay is forced to kill her too to protect Kara and Taylor. Once in the mountain area, they discover that there are floating rocks with whole ecosystems on the top. They manage to get to the top of one and set up camp.

By this point, there's only 5 people left, and 4 of them are from the past. The non-past one was the girl from 1. Unknown to the trio, Marcus has also set up camp on this particular floating island. Not knowing who they are, Marcus attacks Shay when she is alone, stabbing her in the side. When he realizes that its her, he freaks out. Shay tells him to run, and he takes her bow and flees. Taylor and Kara find her like this, dying, and they sit with her until she dies.

Shay 'wakes up' in her 5th period history class, and she manages to hold it together until she finds her boyfriend, Tyler. He takes her home, where she calls Sierra and just talks for a while. When Britta comes home, she finds out about her scars.

In the Games, Taylor and Kara decide to move towards the Cournicopia. As soon as they get off the rocks, however, they all come crashing down. Kara is killed in the rock slide. The girl from 1 dies of dehydration, and Marcus and Taylor meet up the next morning. They fight, arguing the whole time about Shay's death, but in the end Marcus wins. He's crowned victor.

Kara wakes up in the parking lot of the high school, and runs up to hug an on edge Shay, who punches her. Taylor wakes at the end of the day, and cries when he sees Shay.

Of course, three people are still stuck in Panem, unaware of the fact that they can 'die' and go home.

Ini and Mikayla, from D7, join a resistance group, but Mikayla backs out soon after. She's terrified of death, so she refuses to do anything to anger the Capitol. Ini eventually escapes 7 and makes her way to the rebel headquarters in what used to be Mexico. There she discovers the reason the Games didn't end after the 75th: District 13 really was bombed and destroyed, causing the resistance to have to build up from scratch. At the headquarters, Ini slowly moves up the chain of command until she's very close to the top (think like 3rd in command.). She runs the propos, which were her idea in the first place, but without a suitable 'face' to head the propos, they aren't very successful.

Shay broke up with Tyler, saying that she needed time to recover from what happened. He stops hanging around her on her request. The group that now typically hangs out together is Azami, Shay, Kara, and Taylor. They watch over Mikayla and Ini, who still haven't come back. Eventually the 'zombie' Marcus joins them, his parents sending him over to his cousin Britta's home to 'recover' from whatever is happening. There is weekly video conferences with those who understood what happened, including Aureila, Sierra, and Steven, to try and figure out a way to contact those still stuck in Panem.

Nothing really happens until the Victory Tour. In the past, Shay trips down the stairs and smacks her head hard on the ground. When she wakes up, its in a compleatly dark room filled with other people. After a few minutes, they figure out that it's Shay, Taylor, Kara, Sierra, and Aureila from the original group, but it also contains Tyler, Marti (Taylors 12 year old sister) and Abigal, Aureila's 16 year old sister. As soon as they figure this out, a door bursts open and they're all knocked to the ground and tied up. They're lead to a holding room, where Ini finds them.

Ini flips out, and realizes that the crew from the last Games would be the perfect thing to save her dying campaign. They figure out that somehow, whenever Shay is knocked out in the past, she and anyone she's thinking of is transported to the future, with death being the only way to get back. Ini decides to stay and help with overthrowing the government. Shay, Aureila, Sierra, Kara, and Taylor become the faces of a new propo campaign, one that becomes wildly successful at getting awareness out and raising revolts against the Capitol.

Shay doesn't want Tyler, Marti, or Abigal there, so she comes up with a plot to kill them painlessly to send them back. Ini, Taylor, and Kara are in on it. Tyler finds out and flips. He convinces Ini and Kara that it was a bad idea, but he isn't quick enough to save Marti. Tyler and Abigal become resentful, and escape Shay by going onto the front lines and commanding troops, which they both have a knack for.

During the filming of one particular propo, Shay is captured. She commits suicide with the nightlock pill, before sending herself back by having Britta hit her on the head with a book. In this reincarnation, she wakes up in the middle of a raid inside of Mikayla's house. Mikayla demands an explanation, and Shay explains. She sees the Capitol parading her body around on the TV in their own propo, but when she tries to join the rebels, a Peacekeeper sees her and shoots her. When she wakes up, she discovers that Mikayla has joined her in the past.

When Shay goes back for the last time, it is to a world where the Capitol has been overthrown. The execution of all of the leaders was carried out by the faces of the war (her friends.) When they're all about to 'leave', she finds her parents. In the car accident that killed them, Shay was knocked out and had sent them to the future. In Panem they had another child, a 3 year old boy named Sean. Shay decides to stay with her parents in Panem, and after a conversation with her, Britta decides to join her too, leaving behind her Mom and step dad in the past. (Britta is Shay's half sister. They share a Dad, who was a hippie in college and didn't know Britta existed until she was ten.)

Shay becoms a leader in the new government , helping to write their own constitution. She eventually marries and has two kids, who she tells stories of the past to.

So that's the end. Yup.


	13. Bonus Content

**Found this while digging through old files. It's the beginning to the sequel. Thought you might enjoy.**

**Also, I have another account. It's Wryder A if you want to check it out.**

"Ini!" I yelled from the ground. The butt of a gun smacked my cheek, and I tasted blood, my head hitting the ground with a slap.

The advancing feet stopped. "And who are you?" she asked harshly, still not in view of my face.

"Shay," I gasped. "School last year, drama class." I squeezed my eyes shut. "Silvàe in the last Games. District 11. Final Five with Kara, Taylor, the girl from 2, and Marcus."

"If that's true," scoffed a guard, "you'd be dead."

"I'm offended. I'm Taylor from 11, final two, and I'm alive," joked Taylor. The sound of another gun hitting flesh sounded.

"Kara, District 4, final four," squeaked out Kara near me.

"Sierra, died early, seven," put in my great friend from Colorado. "My district partner died in the bloodbath. I spoke to him yesterday."

"No, I'm here," said Steven from a bit away.

Ini moved into sight of me, and her eyes locked on my face. "How?" Her face drained. "Are you back from death, to warn us?"

I shook my head slowly. "No, Ini. We went home."

She cried out in shock. "Home," she laughed. "I haven't been home in months."

"If you really want to go back, just shoot yourself," I let out my own dark laugh. "Or use nightlock. Are we in 7, or 13?" I flinched away from the gun the man was holding.

"No. Stand down, men. These people are clear." Nobody moved. Ini rolled her eyes. "These people now have level five clearance. That's two higher levels then any of you. I advise you to stand down before you commit crimes against this state."

Reluctantly, the men with guns backed off. Ini pulled me to my feet. "We're actually in the rebel base in Mexico. They've been building up defenses here for almost two hundred years, right under the Capitols nose. Most of the base is located in natural volcanic tubes and caves all interconnected underground and reinforced with an enhanced version of carbon nano tubes and steel." She knocked the door frame with a fist. "With this sucker sealed off, you could chuck a nuclear bomb at us and we'd be okay."

"That's... reassuring." I looked at the door skeptically. "And 13?"

"Bombed. Not a front, either." The response was clipped. "C'mon, let's go to Command." Ini grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the door. "Kara, Taylor, c'mon. Andrè, get everyone else a group homecave all together, okay?"

Without waiting, she walked off down the hallway, her long, dark hair swishing behind her. "We've been making shorts, you know, like films, about the refugee people," she explained as Kara, Taylor and I struggled to keep up. "Everyone else in Promotion thinks its just random, but I'm searching for a face."

"What?" I asked, confused. "A face?"

Ini sent an exasperated glance back at me. "Yes. A face. Remember? In the books? The Mockingjay?"

"I get it." Kara grasped at the wall to keep from tripping. "Katniss was the face of the rebellion. She brought the Districts together. They need someone like that."

I bit my lip. "And you think that's us?"

"Are you kidding? Once dead tributes, back to fight in the next Games? I'm the leader in Promotions, and if this doesn't work, nothing will." Ini led us into a small room and shut the door behind us. The room shot sideways. An elevator.

"What about Mikayla?" asked Taylor. "Is she here?"

Ini's face hardened. "Mikayla ditched out on any rebel activity when Shay died."

Nobody spoke after that. The sideways elevator jerked around a bit before we came to a stop. When the doors slid open, the hustle around the huge room shocked me. How many people were in on this thing?

"Ini!" A tall dude with the District 10 look jogs over. "Where have you been? You never reported back."

Ini winced. "Sorry."

Another person came up. "Ini, report on the disturbances in the northeast sector."

Ini took a deep breath. "It wasn't the Capitol, I promise you that. And I know you hate Promo, Hitch, but I think I might now have a way to really help win this war with the screens."

"How so?" asked the first man, intrigued.

"That's impossible," scoffed Hitch. "The only way this is going to be won is through force, not silly shows the Capitol feeds off of."

"Not so," Ini shot back. "How about we do a tribute to the tributes? Not the We Remember shots. More like..."

"We're Back to Kick Ass?" Kara suggested, stepping up.

"And who are these?" asked the first man, amused.

"Oh, yeah." Ini pulled Taylor and I forward. "Guys, this is Erich, my second in command, and Hitch, leader of the agents we have out in the field. Erich, Hitch, this is Kara, Taylor, and Shay. They decided to drop in on us again..."

"Again?" Hitch frowned. "I don't recall ever seeing them before..."

But Erich had paled. "How- That isn't possible. Ini, what are you playing at?"

"I'm no evil scientist," she joked. "No, really. Erich, pull together a meeting with all the department heads. In Room Zero. Now. No seconds."

Erich shook his head and almost tripped over his feet, running off across the room.

"Hitch, go take these three to Room Zero. I'll be there in a minute." Looking like she was going to explode from concentrating, Ini sped off, leaving us with grumpy old Hitch.

"Did you hear? You better take us to Zero, or Ini might claw your face," I told Hitch, a bit sarcastic. "She looked pretty happy back there."

Taylor snorted. "Yeah, dude. Let's move."

LITTLE MORE RANDOM TALKING

"I bet you're all wondering why I called you all here." Ini was at the front of the table, with one woman and two other men we didn't know, along with pissy Hitch. Folders were placed at each seat.

"But, first, I should introduce my friends. Kara, from 4, and Taylor and Shay from 11."

"That's great, squint. Why are they here?" drawled Hitch, leaning back in his chair. "They haven't even gotten a department."

"I haven't been completely honest with you," said Ini, ignoring Hitch. She took a deep breath. "I'm not really from 7. I grew up in a place that was far away from Panem, and yet right on top of it. It was a country called America, and in my time it was the worlds most prominent country."

The room was dead silent.

"We're from the past," said Kara in a sing song voice. Ini shot her a glare. "What? It's not like you were saying anything."

The only other woman in the room snorted. "The past? Really?" I shut my eyes in frustration.

"How else do you explain them?" challenged Ini. "Open your folders."

Papers rustled.

"Check the tributes from 4 and 11. Dead ringer for the three in the room, right?" Intakes of breath. "That's what I thought. I have a few more, too, just these are the most prominent. They've been there, in the Games. They know how it feels. If we can get them onto the screens-"

"Hold on there," interrupted one of the men I didn't know. "How do you know that getting on the screens is the best place for these kids?" Murmuring broke out in the room.

"I'll tell you why," I said loudly. "I spent the whole last Games on my own agenda. Nobody told me what to do, not the Capitol, not even my fellow tributes. More often then not I went into dangerous situations to save their hides," I jabbed a finger at Taylor and Kara, "when I could have ran. I never even wanted to win. I was ready to die for what I believe.

"You want a rebellion? You better get me on the screens to tell all of Panem that they are puppets dancing on strings, that people die because of how the Capitol runs the country, and how the Games don't fix anything. Do they know how much Capitol people waste? The Districts are dogs, killing the fatted pigs and then begging for table scraps. No matter how many times the Games are played, it won't bring justice to anyone."

Dead silence.

Kara took a deep breath. "Our whole alliance didn't even make sense. 11, 7, and a girl from 4? A 12 year old? What chance did we have? In any normal Games, I would be with the Careers, on the top. These two might make it past the bloodbath, but not that far after. And teaming up with your district? You gotta kill the other person at some point." She shook her head violently. "No. We were still together until the end. Not Capitol brainwashed mutts."

"Get us on those screens," said Taylor ominously, "and you might not even have to fight this war."

LATTERRR

The screen lit up. On it played my last moments in this world. Kara, Taylor, crying, as I drowned in my own blood. My voice filter out of the noise. "Betrayed, by one I thought I knew."

It flashed to Kara, getting crushed under a giant boulder. Her voice now. "So close to winning, but it didn't pan out."

Me shooting Astrid. "My life was ended, and I wasn't even ready to go." She sounded at the verge of tears.

Aurelia, her skull crushed. "Didn't even get a chance," she said in a mocking tone.

Sierra, going insane from the flower, attacking us. "Harming my allies," her voice said, as I shot her through the heart. "Killed in mercy by my best friend."

Taylor's final moments with Marcus. "So close, and yet so far."

Steven, beheaded. "Opps," he said. "Game over. Voice silenced. No more fighting."

The screen went black.

"Or is it?" The voice could have been any of the girls. It seemed to shift through all of our tones.

"I don't think so," the collective male voice said.

Light flashed onto the screen. You could kind of see seven still outlines, still as ever.

"It'll take a lot more then death to stop us," Kara echoed.

"Our time isn't up," added Steven.

The shot changed, flashing through seven sets of eyes, before panning out and showing all of us, in tribute clothing, with the weapons we died with in our hands. Then, it zooms in on my face.

"See you at the next Hunger Games," I wink.

The screen turned off. The room stayed silent.

"I think that's a wrap." Ini laughed. "If this doesn't pull together the Districts, nothing will."

"Yes, now can we get back to the problem at hand?" I stood up. "You have to send us into combat, for footage."

"We can't," argued Erich. "What if you die?"

"I'll find a way back," I vowed. "I came back this time, didn't I?"

Steven frowned. "I mean, if someone keeps sending us back, you think it'd be one of the people who came back twice."

Sierra nodded slowly. "Yeah, and someone who knew everyone." She looked at me pointedly.

I groaned.

Taylor grinned. "It seems like a good idea. Shay, you seem pretty well informed. What were you doing both times before coming here?"

I scowled, earning a laugh from Sierra. "The first time we almost got hit by that car, remember? And this last time I tripped down the stair..." My eyes widened. "I hit my head both times."

Laughter erupted from Kara. "Figures," she choked out, "that boring Shay would have the ability to shove us into the Games."

I flushed. "Not like I had a choice."

Kara shuddered. "Thank goodness. If you did, anyone who pissed you off would end up here."

Tyler strode up to Ini. "You can't be seriously considering sending them into battle. Ini, we're just kids!"

I rolled my eyes, and dragged Tyler around to face me. "Tyler, you have no idea how much none of us are kids. Taylor, get Marti out of here. Ini, pull up the film of the last Games."

"Erich!" Ini barked. A flurry of activity filled the room, and at the end of it we had Tyler sitting on a chair in front of a monitor. I leaned over and whispered something to Erich, who pressed a small package into my hand.

"Can we skip the opening stuff? Just reapings and training scores, then the actual Games." I sighed as my instructions were followed.

Ten minutes later, the bloodbath was up on the screen. I winced as I watched three people explode, and as I lept into the fight, grabbed a pack and got out of there, unknowingly following Kara into the woods. Somehow Sierra stumbled out of the fight, and Taylor dodged several blows from someone before grabbing his supplies and ducking out.

The next few minutes showed how Marcus was handling his pretty meager haul. One small water skin, a bag with about twelve pieces of what could only be called hardtack, and a four inch knife. Admittedly, the water sack was full, but still. As it turned to night, each of the remaining tributes was given about thirty seconds of screen time. Our little group managed about five minutes, mostly stuck on Kara and I pulling together a shelter and a watch. We were as big as the Careers, and quite a bit more interesting.

Some tributes were killed during the night by a pack of wolves, and by the next morning everyone was on the move. The Careers went on a hunt, leaving one behind to guard the camp site. My group explored more then anything, and Marcus started heading towards the mountains. Then I ran into Astrid. I turned away when I shot her.

"I forgave you," said Astrid, grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

"I know," I muttered. "Doesn't make it any easier."

I kept my eyes shut over the next few minutes, opening my eyes when I heard TV Taylor saying we should head for the hills, literally. I grinned as he made a joke. Then I winced as Sierra ran right into Kara and tried to kill her. As we tried to calm her. As it didn't work. As I shot her. As she died.

TV Kara bent over Sierras body, picking up a flower. Honeysuckle. "Never trust a flower," she said shakily.

The TV me didn't move, didn't say anything. It took Taylor putting me over his shoulder and hauling me for half a mile for me to snap out of it.

"So that's how I died," Sierra said, just as Steven said, "Wow, you know how to make an exit."

I glared at her. "Yeah, being killed by your best friend. Amazing. Also, pretty scarring. Nightmare worthy."

Sierra winced. "I didn't mean it that way-"

I shook my head. "Ignore me. I rant when something sets me off."

Steven frowned, tapping the table. "What sets you off?" he wondered.

"Anyone kidding about death or communism, drugs, stuck up people, and teachers who think they own the world," Kara listed. "Oh, and Tyler. Defiantly Tyler. She gets stabby with that."

Tyler didn't respond. He winced as on screen, the Careers broke into itsy, bitsy pieces. Just one of them, anyway.

I rolled my eyes. Marcus started getting more screen time right about now. He was more interesting. He had made his way to the mountains, and had discovered the Avatar-like floating rocks. Somehow, he found his way up one, making somewhat of a small hut out of straw.

I really started paying attention when my crew made it to the mountains. Kara tripped, spraining her wrist, and we had to get up on a rock that bumped onto the edge of a cliff. The same rock Marcus was on, incidentally. He hid himself in a small cave as Kara fumbled around outside. Somehow, he had picked up another knife.

I looked away as I died. Actually, I stepped out of the room when Kara died.

A short ten minutes later, the Games were over. Marcus, with a gash in his side, was declared winner, and was pulled out of the arena, away from Taylors body with a gaping hole in the head.

I flipped the switch on the TV. "Try living that out in a few weeks, Tyler. You have no idea what we will do to get these people freed. And now that we know it'll only take killing me to bring these people back, why not fight?"

"When you don't really die, it isn't a choice, not really." I spun around. Taylor was leaning against the door. "Tyler, I used to know you."

I pulled out the syringe full of the drugs Erich gave me. "I can send you back right now. You won't have to deal with any of this. You should take it," I pleaded honestly. "It won't hurt. You'll just... wake up home. Taylor, Marti should too."

Tyler's eyes widened at the sight of the syringe, and he scrambled as fast as he could away from me. "Are you crazy?" he spit. "Kill myself?"

"No," I snapped, annoyed. "If that's what you're worried about, I'll do it. It's not like I haven't been elected to that position before."

Both Kara and Sierra flinched at this.

"Sorry." But my voice didn't sound very apologetic. "Taylor, since you're her older brother, you can choose. Do you want to just send Marti home, or ask her first?"

Taylor blinked. "Um, I really think we should just send her back. Unless anyone here thinks we should ask?"

**There's the end!**


End file.
